Mine Forever, My Love
by Zahra-The-Meerkat-LovesChuRo
Summary: Flaky yearns for adventure. She lives in a small, boring town. Her mother was murdered mysteriously when she was young. Flaky wants answers for unanswered questions. And when she finds herself in Happy Tree Creek. She might just get those answers.
1. Ignorance Is Supposedly Bliss

He sat in the large oak tree overlooking her modest home. He had been doing this for awhile now. Though it was unknown why. Even Flippy didn't know. He wanted to speak with her, and at the same time he wanted to drive his knife straight through her chest.

"Let's go." The voice in his mind mumbled. "Let's just leave. You won't kill her anyway." The voice pleaded weakly. He sighed. It was true. Despite the fact he was… insane… Evil… Monstorus… He couldn't bring himself to kill her.

He leapt off of the tall tree and proceeded into the woods.

The enchanted, ancient artifact dangling around his neck.

* * *

><p>"I'm going to explore with Splendid, dad!" Flaky called out, tying up her shoes and putting on a baseball cap. "Be careful!" her dad cried. Flaky laughed, "C'mon, dad! I'm 17!" she called back, giggling.<p>

She grabbed a big backpack and put the basic adventuring necessities in. Water, food, flashlights, blankets, and of course, candy! She zipped up the backpack and threw it over her shoulder. She zoomed down the stairs at super-porcupine speed, and ran out the door.

"I love you, dad! Bye!" She called out, before slamming the door. She walked for a while toward Splendid's house before she heard a voice call out.

Flaky turned toward the voice. "Took you long enough!" a blue flying squirrel laughed. "Splendid!" Flaky had been best friends with Splendid for as long as she could remember. After all, they _were_ neighbours.

"Where do you wanna go today, Splendid? We could go to the meadow, the lake-"

"We're going into the forest."

Flaky gasped. "We… We can't! You know what our parents say about that place…" Flaky stuttered.

"C'mon, Flaky! It couldn't possibly be that bad. There are no such things as curses." He mocked, wiggling his fingers about making fake ghost noises.

Flaky sighed. _Splendid sure is sarcastic._ She thought. Suddenly it occurred to her mind to think about the curse, and she allowed herself to get lost in a flashback.

She was 15 during the time.

* * *

><p><em>"Flaky."<em>

_"Yes, dad?"_

_"I never want you to enter that forest."_

_"But… Why…? You tell me this all the time."_

_"It is dangerous."_

_Flaky raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "In what way? I want an answer." she asked, obviously irate. She and Splendid used to play around the forest all the time._

_"There are many things not right about that forest, Flaky. It is cursed,"_

_Flaky sustained a laugh. "Cursed?"_

_"It was a very cold winter, and you were two weeks old, Flaky. Your mother had gone to gather firewood for her friend who had broken a leg. Your mother was very generous, Flaky… And brave. I warned her not to go, but she wouldn't listen. _

_I had thought better of it and ran after her. I entered the forest and called her name. I couldn't see her anywhere. I suddenly heard the sound of a large fire burning in the distance, and clouds of black smoked formed above the tree tops. _

_I curiously followed the sound. I saw a large bonfire, and I could see many animals standing around it. I hid behind a shrub. _

_More animals entered, they were carrying a large metal chest. I curiously watched on in awe. They threw the chest onto the fire and one animal started to read from a large, black book." _

_Flaky's dad wiped his forehead, as if he were still standing near that fire. His eyes glistened with fresh tears. He waited a few minutes before continuing. Flaky patiently waited, no matter how ridiculous this sounded. _

_"When they had finished and left. I walked over to the dying bonfire and stared at the red hot chest. I used my shirt to open the top without burning myself…I won't say what I saw in that chest, Flaky… __I couldn't…"_

_Flaky got curious. _

_"I won't be afraid, dad, please." She begged. "I have the right to know." _

_Her dad nodded. "I know you do." _

_He stood up and strolled over to the mantle above the fireplace. He relinquished a small ornately decorated box, and sat down. "I saw bones and ashes. And amidst those ashes… your mother's quills and ring." He choked, and put his head in his hands. _

_He sobbed for a while before gaining enough strength to open the box. He slowly lifted the top and pulled out a shining golden ring adorned with a big, blue jade. He slipped it slowly onto Flaky's finger. _

_It fit perfectly. _

_Flaky swallowed hard. She felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. _

_"That… is why, Flaky… I never want you to entering that forest. No one comes out once they've entered. Save for me, which is a mystery... I'll never quite get." He said, sternly._

* * *

><p>"Earth to Flaky! Hello…!"<p>

Flaky shook her head and was brought back to reality. She gazed at the ring on her finger. Splendid had been shaking a hand in front of her face.

"It's about time you snapped back to reality! What was that all about?"

Flaky swallowed. "I'm not going in there." She whispered.

"Fine. If that's what you want." He sighed. "But I for one think that the whole "curse" was made up by our parents to keep us with them as "their little babies". Well, I wanna do something for once. All we do in this 5 house town is sit around all day.

I want adventure. We've been everywhere. Seen everything here. Now are you in, or out?"

Flaky took a hesitant step back.

"Suit yourself, Flaky. _I'll be back._" And with that, Splendid disappeared into the forest. Flaky felt a lump form in her throat. She blinked back angry tears and marched back into her house. She threw the backpack onto the floor and stormed into her room.

It was small, but cozy. She looked out the big window. The sun was creeping down over the distant city. Its golden rays replaced by the dark night. The city was about 30 miles away, and its beautiful lights could be seen perfectly from her window.

Flaky often dreamt of living in the citty. A big one like that. Her thoughts were instantly interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Come in." she said, dreamily. Her father walked in and stood next to her. For a while they said nothing. They just enjoyed each other's presence.

"Flaky. I love you." Her father said at last, his voice but a whisper. He turned to her. "You look so much like your mother." Flaky smiled. It always made her proud, no matter how many times her father told her that... Even though Flaky didn't remember her mother.

She knew she had inherited her red fur, instead of her father's lavender fur.

Unfortunately she inherited his dry scalp. Her father squoze her hand gently, before leaving the room. "I also believe this is yours." He added, placing her backpack on the floor.

Soon enough, Flaky was alone again. She was about to go to sleep when she remembered something. _Splendid! He hasn't come back, yet! _She thought. She ran towards the door to leave, but realized that she couldn't leave the house with her dad still up.

He'd kill her! And she certainly couldn't wait for him to sleep. Splendid might not have enough time! She couldn't let him become like her mother…

Flaky took a big gulp and opened the window. She stuck one hesitant leg out, then the other, to where she was sitting on the edge. She looked down. It was a good 18 feet up.

She looked at the large oak outside of her window, and grabbed onto one of the large branches. Getting a good grip, she swung off the ledge and dangled there for a while. Her heart began to race as she looked for another branch to grab onto.

Upon finding none, Flaky could feel her heart beating fearfully in her chest. She held on for dear life as she looked for a suitable branch. Unfortunately, she couldn't hold on any longer, and the tree's bark was cutting her hands.

No matter how hard she held on, her hands were starting to slip more and more each second.

With a startled scream, the poor porcupine collided with the earth below her, her skull made contact with a sharp rock, causing it to make a sickening crunch.

Flaky could feel her arm make a ghastly popping sound as it lost contact with its socket and hung limply at her side. She groaned in pain, and felt the world grow fuzzy around her.

When she started to feel herself lose contact with consciousness, strong arms wrapped around her. With them came a mysterious strength that permeated within her. She thought of her father and allowed herself to drift into sleep.

* * *

><p>"How is she…?"<p>

"She's alive."

"Good."

"Who should we take?"

"It doesn't really matter. Any one. Before she dies. Let's hurry."

"Don't worry. I have him."

"...Well... I suppose he'll do."

Flaky heard footsteps hurry off and she lost consciousness with the world once again.

* * *

><p>"Hey." A voice whispered. Flaky groaned. "You ok?" it came again. "Wake up."<p>

Flaky opened her eyes and looked at her surroundings, she lay on a purple bed; and staring her in the eyes was a purple beaver.

"Ah! You're up!" the beaver exclaimed happily.

"Um… Where am I?" Flaky asked, looking at her surroundings cautiously.

"You're in Happy Tree Creek." Flaky just stared. "Never heard of it."

The beaver didn't look surprised. "I know. We don't really like people to know." The way the beaver said that made Flaky feel a little queasy and uncomfortable. "I'm Toothy."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Flaky." Toothy smiled, knowingly. "Would you like a tour of the town?"

Flaky nodded, but a thought struck her mind. "Who took me here?" The beaver stopped smiling. "Ah… That would be Flippy." He laughed nervously. "Flippy?" Toothy nodded in an attempt to change the subject.

Flaky quickly sat up. "Wait... How long have I been sleeping!"

"Three days." The beaver said, glad to be off the topic of 'Flippy'.

He started blabbering, nervously. "You would have healed quicker, but it took us a while to find a suitable-"

A green paw wrapped itself around Toothy's mouth. "Shut up!" the animal behind Toothy hissed. "We can't trust her." It whispered.

Unfortunately, Flaky didn't hear, but Toothy did; and he nervously nodded his head. A large green bear walked out from behind the shaking beaver, he stared at Flaky, smiling.

She felt like Jello-O under his gaze. "Ahm… This would be Flippy." Toothy pointed at the bear. Flippy waved. Flaky waved back shyly.

She was suddenly aware of her dandruff. Only she didn't know why; though she was always conscious of the dry flakes littering her quills, she just now wanted to rip them all out.

She slowly placed a pillow on top of her head. Earning a funny look from Toothy, and a hearty laugh from Flippy.

Flippy was muscular, his fur was a lime-green colour, he wore a dark green, camo army jacket, and a green beret sat atop his head, it had a Squadron Leader patch sewn onto the top.

Somehow, he had a guilty air about him. He looked as if he had done something awful.

Toothy suddenly piped up. "Alright! Now how about that tour?" Flaky nodded her head.

The mysterious Flippy had disappeared out of sight.

* * *

><p>"When somebody new comes here, we usually have a giant get-together in the park. I called everybody, they'll be here soon." Toothy smiled, and looked at Flaky. Despite the fun she was having, she couldn't help but think about her father and Splendid.<p>

Her father must be worried out of his mind... She couldn't imagine the trouble she'd be in.

"Hey there!" a high-pitched voice called from behind here. She turned around.

There stood a furry pink chipmunk, she had a big red bow on the top of her head, and she wore a red polka-dot summer dress.

Beside the chipmunk stood a smiling yellow rabbit. His pink bunny slippers made Flaky chuckle a bit.

"My name is Giggles! This is Cuddles." The chipmunk said, pointing to the rabbit. He waved excitedly. Flaky smiled at the two. "Hi."

Suddenly, Giggles grabbed her hand and pulled her away. "Let's go meet the other animals, Flaky! Every one' here now!" Flaky smiled happily to herself.

She already felt at home.

* * *

><p>A large group of animals sat around in a big circle. "Alright, Flaky. To help you get to know every one, we're gonna play the Name Game. It's not really a game, but I like calling it that."<p>

The chipmunk giggled before continuing.

"Anyway, everyone says their name and a little somethin' about themselves. Let's start with my BFF Petunia! Take it away, girl!" Giggles said, to a blue skunk.

Petunia smiled proudly. "My name is Petunia, and my BFF is Giggles!" the two girls giggled and started to chat non-stop. The game continued despite the two girls and their chattiness.

Flaky learned about Lumpy, a dopey-looking blue moose, Shifty and Lifty, a couple of green raccoons, there was the Mole, no one knew his name exactly, Sniffles was an ingenious anteater, Handy the construction worker, was an orange amputee beaver,

Disco Bear was a flirty yellow bear with a giant afro, (he made Flaky feel quite uncomfortable), Pop was a stay at home dad, and his son's name was Cub, Nutty was a candy crazed squirrel that wouldn't stop twitching, Mime was… a mime.

And lastly, Flaky found out that Flippy was a war veteran whom fought in the famous W.A.R. He smiled at her, and she could feel a blush creep onto her cheeks.

"Do you have a place to stay, Flaky?" Giggles suddenly asked.

"Well... I'd kind of like to go home."

Giggles went pale. "I-uh… But you just got here!" Flaky stared at Giggles incredulously.

"I've been here for 3 days! I have to see my father." Flaky demanded. Giggles stared at Flaky as if she had grown a thousand pairs of eyes.

"But… But… Wouldn't you like to see Happy Tree Creek some more?"

Flaky started to get angry. "I don't want to stay! I want to go home!" Flaky was getting scared.

A hand was placed on her shoulder, causing her to jump.

"You can't go home, just yet, Flaky. You haven't seen any of Happy Tree Creeks unique landmarks yet! We're "famous" for our unique individuality when it comes to food and culture."

Flaky turned to see Flippy.

"Have fun for a while."

She blushed a bit. "I-I can't…" the shy porcupine suddenly remembered what Splendid had said.

"_I wanna do something for once. All we do in this 5 house town is sit around all day. I want adventure."_

"I-I suppose I can stay… A little longer…" Flaky stuttered.

The bear smiled. "Perfect. You wouldn't mind staying with Giggles, then?" He put his head a little closer. "And if she annoys you, you can stop by my house." He added playfully, winking. Flaky laughed.

Giggles trotted up to Flaky fearfully. "Ok, Flaky. Let's go." She glared at Flippy, grabbed Flaky's hand and led her away.

* * *

><p>Giggles' house was as girly as girly came. Flaky put her backpack down in awe.<p>

Everything in the pink house was… Pink. A bright pink tea set sat inside of a bright pink china cabinet. A table stood in the middle of the room, covered by a bright pink tablecloth; oddly enough, her kitchen was even pinker then the rest of the house.

Flaky couldn't imagine the chipmunk's bedroom. A hot-pink loveseat faced a large flat screen TV.

"You can sleep here for now, if that's ok." Giggles pointed to the sofa. "If you get bored, you can watch the telly for an hour or two. I won't mind. And there are blankets in those cabinets over there."

Flaky nodded and looked outside. All of the pink was overwhelming, and Flaky, being a bit of a tomboy, couldn't stand it much. She sighed.

"Oh... And Flaky?"

"Hm...?"

"Stay away from Flippy for me... Ok?"

Flaky furrowed her brows and turned to Giggles. "But... Why?"

The chipmunk was gone.

Flaky sighed and stared out the window once again.

It was getting dark.

* * *

><p>She lay on the cushy sofa. Flaky couldn't sleep… at all. She guessed it was at least 2 O'clock. She thought of all the things that transpired that day. She sighed. Giggles had acted odd when she had asked to go home. Speaking of home, Flaky didn't even know how far<p>

home was. She could be on the other side of the world for all she knew. Flippy was certainly a curious character as well. Only, she didn't understand why every one despised the happy bear. Flippy... She didn't know how he convinced her to stay. But he did.

She then wondered where Splendid was...

Flaky hadn't noticed it before, but now she just thought of it, what was with the weird necklaces everyone was wearing?

This was definitely an odd place…

Happy Tree Creek.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: AGhjxgjsdgjhd! This took a bajillion years to write. A BAJILLION. Anywho. Hmmm... Mysteriouuuusss.**

**Every thing here in this chapter is VERY important so I hope you payed attention heehee.**

**What ARE those necklaces? What did happen to Splendid and Flaky's dad? Why should Flaky stay? Why did that happen to Flaky's mother?**

**All of Flaky's questions will be answered in future chapters. So please stay tuned! 8D**

**And I know... I hate asking this... It annoys me.**

**But please review!**

**I just want to know if this story is any good. ;^; Haha**

**P.s. I welcome constructive criticism. :'3**

**Thanks for reading! :D**


	2. The Real Flippy?

"Flaky! Flaky, wake up!"

Flaky groaned as a high-pitched squeaky voice brought her to consciousness. She cracked her eyes open and groaned.

"Yay! You're up~!"

"Giggles? What time is it…?" Flaky sat up, and itched her quills.

Giggles rushed to the windows and pulled apart the drapes, sending a flood of blinding light into the blinding pink house. Flaky squinted her eyes.

"It's 2;01~! You must've been really tired last night!" Giggles laughed. "Oh! And by the way, I wanted you to see more of Happy Tree Creek, today. So get dressed!"

"W-what…?" Flaky was about to protest, but the effervescent chipmunk had already rushed up the stairs.

Flaky sighed and pulled herself off of the couch, gingerly stepping onto the floor; she slugged her way into the radiant pink kitchen.

"Oh! Don't eat breakfast, Flaky! We're going to the diner for lunch. Fantastic! You look about my size!" Giggles cried. _"Maybe not as thin and gorgeous…_" the two-faced chipmunk thought to herself.

Smiling happily, she handed Flaky a bright pink, flowy, frilly, silky dress.

The thought of herself wearing that made Flaky want to hurl. "Ummm… Do you have any… Jeans?"

Giggles scrunched her nose up in disgust. "Not really. I'm sorry." Giggles didn't sound too apologetic.

"It's alright." Flaky sighed. "I suppose it'll have to do."

Giggles clapped her hands in glee. "Good! I'll wait at the door! And hurry up! Toothy, Cuddles, Lumpy and Petunia are already there!" Giggles ran off, leaving Flaky alone.

* * *

><p>She stared at the rectangular building confusedly.<p>

"…A roller rink…?" Flaky raised an eyebrow apprehensively.

"Yeppers! Why not? Roller rinks are totally awesome! C'mon!" Giggles laughed, grabbing a hold of the unwilling porcupine's hand and pulling her into the building.

* * *

><p>Flaky looked around the rink.<p>

The building's interior looked like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry blended together and exploded into a fiery rainbow of glittery mess.

The room was dim and the only light it received was from a load of Gobos that hung from the ceiling. The Gobos spun sporadically and shot different coloured rays of lights from their bulbs.

A multitude of strobe lights sparked up the room as well, and one couldn't look anywhere without an explosion of vibrant glitter meeting their eyes. Pop music blared loudly.

It almost made Flaky sick.

"I'll go rent your roller blades, Flaky. You can go sit down if you'd like!" Giggles called before running off to a renting stall. Flaky sighed in irritation.

Unbeknownst to the excitable chipmunk, Flaky hadn't the slightest clue as to how to skate.

At all.

Groaning in tense frustration, she sat down huffily in one of the vibrant booths. She laid her elbows on the table and placed her head in her paw.

She had no intention of being here, really.

"Hey, Flaky!" she turned her head to see a bubbly yellow rabbit skate toward her at top speed. Screeching to a halt before her, he waved happily. "Aren't you gonna skate?"

"Not yet, Cuddles. Giggles is getting my skates. And between you and I… I don't know how to skate." Flaky sighed.

Cuddles gasped dramatically and his eyes widened. He looked as if he had just heard the worst news in the world.

Like his mother had died or something.

Flaky raised an eyebrow.

"That's crazy, Flaky! Totally crazy! I should definitely teach you!" The bunny cried determinedly, punching the air.

"Hey guys!" Giggles rushed in, tossed the skates to Flaky, and grabbed a hold of the bunny's ear. "C'mon, Cuddles!" she skated off, dragging the unwilling rabbit behind her.

Flaky groaned irately. Her only tutor was dragged off.

Looking helplessly at the skates, she pulled them on. "Ok, Flaky. You can do this…"

Taking a hold of the table as if it were a life line, Flaky stood up shakily, her knees buckling and wobbling as she desperately tried to gain balance.

When her legs stopped shaking, she hesitantly let go of the table. "Well... This isn't so bad, now all I have to do is- Aaagh!"

The porcupine cried in fear as her feet flew backward, sending her rocketing forward at top speed.

She shut her eyes and prepared for pain.

Upon finding that she hadn't smashed into the floor yet, she cracked an eye open.

A pair of muscled arms had caught her before she fell to an untimely demise.

"Are you ok…?"

Flaky looked up.

Apparently, Flippy had rescued her.

Flaky gasped and withdrew from his arms. He was quite tall compared to the porcupine; the top of her head just barely reached the middle of where his sternum would be.

"I-I'm sorry! Whoah!" she cried, as this time, her feet flew forward.

She fell backward, only to be saved by Flippy…

...Again...

"You really need to sit down." He chuckled.

Flaky nodded quickly, her red fur hiding the extreme blush on her face. Flippy escorted her to the seat, and she sat down quickly.

"Thanks…" she mumbled, twiddling her thumbs.

"It's no problem. Have you never skated…?" Flaky looked at the green bear hopelessly.

"Is it that obvious…?"

Flippy chuckled a bit and nodded. "Kinda. But that's ok. At least you're brave enough to try." He smiled.

"Ah… Flippy. Could I ask you a question, perhaps…?" He nodded.

"Well, what's up with this place…? It's not right, somehow. It seems too perfect." Flaky looked down, nervously. She didn't expect to get a viable answer. But she could try at least.

"You're just getting used to it, Flaky. You'll find you won't be able to leave after a while."

She looked at him, curiously. "But I _will_ be going home soon, right…?"

Flippy stared at her, unblinking. "It depends on how long "soon" is, Flaky." He replied, huskily. She shrunk a bit.

"No matter. I'm not leaving anyway until I find Sple-" she gasped and sat up quickly. "Splendid!" She shoved her hand into her pocket, and pulled out a wrinkled paper.

It was a picture of herself and Splendid, which she always kept with her.

Shoving it in Flippy's face, she asked. "Have you seen this squirrel?" Flippy took one glance before hurriedly shaking his head.

"Nope. Never seen him. Never." Flippy's face flushed a bit, and his ears turned a little red. "I don't even know who tha-"

"Flippy. You are a terrible liar." Flaky growled. She was not a bitter person, but when her best friend's life was possibly at risk, she did NOT mess around. "You've seen him!" She spat.

Flippy's face turned pale. "W-well- I…"

"Hey, guuuys!" Giggles rushed in. "How are you, Flippy?" she asked, sitting next to him. A little bit close for comfort. He looked relieved by her presence though.

Flaky squinted her eyes crossly. "Perfect timing, Giggles. I had a question for you."

Flippy piped up. "Y'know, Flaky that is really a pretty dress." Flaky stared furiously at him.

"That's _my_ dress, Flippy, I let her _borrow_ it." Giggles huffed, desperately.

Flaky's mouth twitched in fury. "As I was saying..." She hissed. "I was wondering if you've seen this squirrel, Giggles." Flaky showed her the picture, and Giggles took it.

"Oh, yeeaah… Huh… Nope. Never seen him." She casually handed the photo back. "Sorry." She added.

Flaky's mouth gaped. She felt completely belittled. "But…" her shoulders dropped in defeat, and her insides curled up in anxious misery.

It made her feel worse to know that everyone seemed to be keeping some dark secret from her; it made her want to scream in frustration. Unfortunately she knew anger wouldn't get her anywhere.

She'd just have to slowly worm the information out of them; hopefully she'd get some clues that way.

Flippy had the guiltiest look on his face. Giggles was completely indifferent.

Suddenly, the Gobos slowed down, the strobes turned off, and slow music started to play. Giggles sat up straight, and she smiled excitedly.

She turned to Flippy and grabbed his arm. "Flippy want to-"

"Hey, Giggles! Wanna dance?" Giggles froze, and she turned around slowly, an irritated look on her face.

Cuddles smiled at her dumbly. "The slow songs are playing~!"

"I know that." She snapped.

Taking one last hopeful glance at Flippy, Giggles took Cuddles' hand and strolled off with the absent-minded rabbit.

Leaving Flaky alone with Flippy once again.

They stared hopelessly at each other for a moment, before Flippy finally broke the silence.

"Would… Would you like to learn how to roller blade, now…?" he looked down, bashfully.

Flaky just nodded robotically, though she really didn't want to.

"I'll put on some skates real quick." He slowly got up and went to rent some skates.

Flaky waited a while, before her quiet, alone time was interrupted when Lumpy hobbled in and sat next to her. "Hello!" he cried, dumbly.

"Hi, Lumpy." Flaky was in no mood to speak at the moment.

Lumpy looked around for a source of entertainment before spotting her photo, laying in the middle of the table. He retrieved it and turned it around in his hand.

He stared at it for a while before reaching a conclusion. "That's you." He pointed smartly to the Flaky in the photo.

She looked at him and nodded with false amazement.

Lumpy felt completely proud of himself and continued. "That's the squirrel dude." He pointed to Splendid.

Flaky's ears perked up. "You know him!"

"Yep. He was hurt real bad."

She sat up "H-how! What do you mean?"

Lumpy opened his mouth to reply, but Flippy had returned wearing his skates. "Are you ready?" he asked her, gingerly.

Flaky wanted to scream at him for his awful timing, but refrained; despite the bubble of fury pulsating within her stomach. "Sure." She replied sourly.

Lumpy stood up boredly, and skated away. She stared at the moose regretfully, and allowed Flippy to lead her to the floor.

"Ok. Now be careful. It's more slippery on the wooden floor…" He took hold of her hand and walked her to the skating floor.

She slipped a bit and clung to him tightly. Causing a shy blush to creep onto his face.

Flaky kicked her feet desperately in attempt to move. He stood her up again. "You're trying too hard to move your entire body. It's more of a foot, knee, and ankle movement."

Earning a confused look from Flaky, Flippy scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "It's kind of hard to explain. Here… Let's do it together." He took a hold of her hand slowly.

"You can lean on me if you'd like…"

Flaky nodded and rested most of her body weight on the tall bear.

"Alright, left foot goes forward…" Flippy slowly moved his foot forward in failed unison with the hesitant porcupine. "Don't be afraid to move, if you fall. I'll catch you. Let's try again."

He lifted his right foot this time, and Flaky copied. Once their feet hit the floor, they moved the other foot, and then the other.

Flaky kept stumbling; she felt completely stupid right now, as other skaters zoomed past her.

"Just keep moving your feet along with mine." Flippy assured her softly.

"S-so Flippy… How long have you been here…? How did you get here…?" Flaky looked at Flippy, still steadily shuffling her feet.

He sighed thoughtfully, "Interesting question... Well, during the W.A.R. when I had finally defeated the Tiger General, he had injured me so badly I really could've died. I had blacked out from blood loss.

But just when I thought it was over for me, I woke up in the Happy Tree Creek hospital. Like you, I hadn't the slightest clue as to where I was, but since I had nowhere to go, I just stayed. It's been 9 years.

…Don't mind my change of subject, but your skating has gotten very good."

Flaky had become so intrigued by Flippy's story; she had unintentionally skated in perfect unison with him.

She laughed aloud in success.

"Are you ready to let go of my arm, now?"

Flaky thought for a moment. She was doing perfectly fine, but she didn't want to let go. She shook her head. "Without support I could trip!" she said hastily.

"But you're just about a perfect skater already!" he cocked an eyebrow, chuckling a bit.

"Well… I-I don't want to fall." Flippy nodded happily and the two strolled slowly on.

"Have you- have you been in any other wars?" Flaky felt kind of bad for asking such personal questions, but she really was curious.

Flippy stayed silent for a moment before replying. "Well, back in 197-"

Flaky accidentally intervened. "Wow, you're _old_!"

Flippy stared at her.

Flaky slammed her hands on her mouth. She stuttered helplessly in an attempt to redeem herself. "I'm so sorry! You just look young, and- ...well that would make you 50 or something- ...and well, I kind of-"

She looked down, "redeeming" herself only made it worse. Her face was a brighter red than usual.

She felt dumb... like Giggles.

"Whoah!" Once again, Flaky lost her balance and fell forward, thankfully Flippy caught her.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't let go earlier." He chuckled.

Luckily, Flippy didn't seem at all hurt by Flaky's accidental Giggles moment.

They both laughed.

* * *

><p>"Thanks for teaching me how to skate." Flaky mumbled timidly, sitting in the glittery booth. Flippy sat on the opposite side of her.<p>

"It's not a problem, really. Do you want to go find Giggles and the others?"

Flaky nodded. "You should come to the diner with us."

Flippy shook his head. "Not if I wasn't invited."

He sighed, regretfully recalling what problems had occurred earlier when he had "flipped out" at the diner.

"Well, you're being invited now. Come on." She insisted.

Flippy, without being able to deny her, agreed to go.

* * *

><p>"This is nice!" Flaky gazed around at the cozy diner.<p>

The sound of grease popping sounded from the kitchen, the smell of food cooking made her stomach growl.

"Aahhhh. I love the diner." Giggles sniffed the air contentedly. "Let's go take a seat." She added, skipping toward a large table.

Lumpy, Cuddles, Petunia, Toothy, Flippy, and Flaky followed behind.

Once every one had seated themselves, a seemingly handsome, purple mole steadily made his way toward the table.

He wore dark sunglasses, and a mysterious overcoat that covered the lower half of his face. "Hello. I'm your waiter. Could I possibly get you all something to drink…?"

Flaky looked for a nametag on the mole's shirt, but found none.

Finally, she turned to Giggles. "Who is that…?"

"Oh, that's just The Mole. Heaven knows what his real name is."

Flaky suddenly remembered The Mole from earlier, when she was being introduced to some of the animals in the park.

Giggles added under her breath. "But he sure is hot, so it doesn't matter much."

Flaky stared at Giggles in confusion. "I thought you and Cuddles were dating…?"

Giggles shrugged. "Yeah."

She stared at Giggles for a moment before her attention was brought to "The Mole".

"What would you like to drink, ma'am…?" He stopped suddenly, and poked her face. "Oops. I'm terribly sorry! I meant 'sir'."

Giggles laughed loudly.

Flaky blushed, but her shyness kept her from correcting him. "Shirley Temple, please…" she sunk in her chair.

The unknowing mole nodded before turning around and heading toward the kitchen, a walking stick dancing ahead of him.

Flaky realized now that he was blind.

She gazed at the animals at the table. She suddenly noticed something quaint about each of their necklaces. Something she hadn't seen before.

Strangely, each pendant carried a small gem within it, and each gem had strange white swirls drifting within them. She furrowed her brows.

"Flakyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy…!" a pink paw shook vigorously in front of Flaky's face.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I zoned out."

Giggles laughed. "It's ok. But your drink is here."

Flaky stared dumbly at the soda. Without thinking, she blurted out a forbidden question. "What's with the little swirling things in you guys' necklaces?"

Everyone went silent for a moment.

Lumpy broke the overbearing silence. "Well they keep us all al-"

Petunia slapped Lumpy. "Shut up!"

The idiot moose didn't get the hint and rambled on. "The swirls are other animals' so-"

Petunia slapped him again.

He finally got the hint after that, and became quiet.

Flaky _really_ like Lumpy.

* * *

><p>While they waited for their food to arrive, every one chatted incessantly.<p>

Flaky grew more and more hungry every minute, and more and more irritated every second.

The sound of cooking food emanating from the kitchen didn't help either.

Or the grease popping loudly on the stovetops.

The metallic clang of pots and silverware reverberated off the walls. Animals cracked open soda cans with loud _pops. _

Idiot chefs dropped pots on the floor, causing large booms to resound through the small diner.

Flaky gazed over at Flippy. He looked absolutely nauseous and his eyes flickered curiously. He leapt up.

"I'm going to the restroom…" He mumbled, his hands shook vigorously.

No one noticed as he left, save for Flaky, who followed his retreating figure.

* * *

><p>Flaky opened the bathroom door and peeked in,<p>

Flippy stood hunched over; his legs were quivering and he breathed hard, as if he were having a panic attack.

Flaky gasped and ran to help him. "Are you ok!"

"_Get away, Flaky_!" He hissed; his voice littered with so much venom, Flaky perhaps thought he was a snake instead of a bear. She took a step back in confused fear.

"You're afraid…?" Flippy chuckled a bit.

A harsh chuckle.

Unlike his usual sweet honey laugh from the times before.

He turned to her, a devious smile plastered onto his face. His eyes shone a crazed shade of lime-green. Instead of his comforting deep-green forest eyes.

"…Flippy…?"

The bear slid a sharp tongue a crossed jagged teeth.

Slowly pulling out a pointed Bowie knife, presumably "Flippy" took a step forward.

"How would you like to die again, Flaky? Hmmm…?" he cackled, his dilated pupils sending chills down her spine.

Despite the fact what Flippy said made no sense at all, and despite the fact she wanted to know what the heck he was talking about, Flaky ran out of the bathroom.

* * *

><p>Gasping for breath, she met her friends. "Guys!" she attempted to catch her breath as the others stared at her with wide eyes.<p>

"F-Flippy…"

That was all she could muster up with her lack of breath.

Everything went a dead silent.

Suddenly, a rush of animals flooded the diner as they all attempted to escape.

Flaky was being pushed around brutally as animals shoved past her; causing the porcupine to fall harshly to the floor.

She hit her head a little hard on the floor, and things were slowly getting foggy. She couldn't get up and run, so she crawled hopelessly on the floor.

"H-help!"

Animals ran past her, ignoring the desperate pleas.

"Please… help me…!"

The diner had cleared out, and the glass doors creaked to a close.

The place suddenly went dark, as the large windows were blocked by curtains.

She was left alone.

With _him. _

Flaky gasped as her arm was brutally grabbed, and her body was whirled so she lay on her back.

"W-what… What happened to you…?" Tears burnt Flaky's eyes as she stared at the once kind Flippy.

He stared at her punitively, not a drop of sympathy within his eyes.

Flippy took her quills within one of his strong hands, and dragged her a crossed the floor, her pitiful kicks ineffective in helping her escape.

He pulled the struggling porcupine up, and threw her viciously onto one of the tables.

"I'm off to get some rope. And in case you try to escape…" pulling the knife up, he drove it into her shoulder.

She screamed in agony, and tried to pull the knife out. Unfortunately it kept her cemented to the cold table.

Flippy strolled off to retrieve the rope.

Flaky pulled as hard as she could on the knife, but it seemed glued to her flesh; and the sharp metal didn't so much as budge. She groaned in irritation and perplexed horror.

There was no way she was getting out of this.

"I'm back~" Flippy's harsh voice cooed.

"Please, Flippy… Let me go… This isn't you."

The bear snarled. "_You don't know me_!"

She flinched, his voice again sounded as if it were composed completely of lethal poison.

The bear wasted no time in tying her down onto the table.

"W-what are you going to do to me…?" Flaky's heart beat at a thousand times a moment, and her eyes widened in dumbstruck horror.

Flippy gripped the Bowie knife, and pulled it from her shoulder; causing Flaky to cry in visible misery; which only served as delicious fuel to the insane war veteran.

He smirked, and slashed a crossed her stomach.

Deep enough to need stitches, but not deep to the point where her entrails would spill all over the floor.

She gasped and screamed as he slashed again and again and again.

The pain had become unbearable, and she begged pitifully. "Please... Let me go! I-I'll do anything...!"

Flippy stopped and stared at her; shaking his head. "I'm amazed, Flaky… You squeal like a fucking pig." With that said, he began slicing her flesh once again.

She squirmed hopelessly as pools of her blood dripped off of the table, and formed underneath it.

Flippy slashed once more at her thigh, laughing sadistically.

But he suddenly froze, and his eyes widened.

Flaky stared at him through foggy vision.

He had lacerated her so many times, that the silky dress had nearly fallen off, exposing her bra and underwear.

Though she was in too much pain to notice it, and Flippy was having too much fun to notice; he now suddenly realized the tantalizing state he left the girl in.

His ears turned a bit red, and his face flushed a bit.

Flaky, being as naïve as she was, hadn't the slightest clue as to why he stopped.

"A-are you going to let me go…?" she choked, tears streaming down the sides of her face.

The bear smiled. "Quite the contrary…" he hissed, a smile tugging still at his lips.

Flaky squirmed uncomfortably, her mind was starting to get dizzy from blood loss. "P-please…"

The sound of shattering glass.

A flash of blue.

She heard Flippy growl in fury, and he backed away from her.

Flaky tried to lift her head and see what happened, but she didn't have the strength to even try.

It sounded like a brawl was ensuing forth; as the sound of bones popping, and crunching echoed through the air.

Flaky closed her eyes and fell into the merciful oblivion.

* * *

><p>I h<p>

**Yep. This chapter was really short. Sorry 'bout that.**

**I tried to finish this and publish it befor the weekend ended. So sorry about the bad quality. ^^;**

**Anyway. I've been thinking about changiing the name to something... Fitting?**

**When I had first published, I was kind of pushed to come up with a name the last second.**

**So if you guys can think of something, tell me! :D**

**Thanks for reading! =3=**


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